A unique African HLA haplotype may identify a population at increased risk for kidney graft rejection.
We determined HLA-A, -B, and -DR allele frequencies in kidney transplant recipients in relation to graft survival. Most recipients and donors were from African descent. The frequency of HLA-A30 was somewhat increased in recipients who rejected the graft. The frequency of HLA-B42 was significantly (P=0.002) increased in recipients who rejected the graft. Similar results were found for the HLA-DR3 allele; however, this effect was diminished when B42-, DR3+ individuals were analyzed. We further investigated the effect on transplant outcome of a unique African haplotype A30, B42, DR3, and of segments thereof, which have a high frequency in the local population. Log-rank analysis revealed that the negative effect on transplant outcome was least in A30-, B42+ recipients (P=0.417) and most pronounced in A30+, B42+ patients (P=0.006). We postulate that the negative effect on transplant outcome may reside in the A30, B42 segment of chromosome 6 and may be caused by a stronger than average immunoregulatory gene.
Creemers
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PC
Immunology Department, University of Cape Town Medical School, South Africa.
Kahn
D
D
D000349:Africa; D044383:Black People / Q000235:genetics*; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D012307:Risk Factors
D006680:HLA Antigens